Improvement in blind-slat fastener



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WILLIAM SELLERS, 0]? NEW YORK, N. Y.-

Letters Patent No. 89,439, dated A ril 27, 1869.

IMPROVEMENT IN BLIND-SLAT FASTENER.

The Schedule referred to in these Letters Patent and mating part of the same.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, WILLIAM Sermons, of the city, county, and State of New York, have invented a new and improved Blind-Slat Fastening; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, which will enable others skilled in the art to make and use the same, reference being bad to the accompanying 1 drawings, forming part of this specification.

It is well known that if the tenons of blind-slats are made sothat they will, when new, turn freely in the frame of the blind, they will soon, owing to shrinkage, become so loose as to be incapable of remaining in an open or partially. open state, and will also vibrate and rattle under the action of the wind.

Many plans have been devised to hold the slats in any position required, but none are in very general use, some of them being complicated and expensive, others involving the necessity of being adjusted, so as to lock the slats in the different positions, while others are frail, and after short use fail to perform the function for which they were designed.

My improvement is designed to fully obviate all these difficulties; and

g It consists in the construction of a reversible fastening, to be applied to one of the side-pieces of a window-blind, and embracing the tenon of one of the slats in such a manner that its rim or centre shall form a spring bearing against the end of the slat, to hold the same in any desired position.

In the accompanying sheet of drawings- Figure 1 is a transverse vertical section of a window-blind, having my invention applied to it.

Figure 2, a detached view of the invention.

Figure 3, an end view of the same.

Similar letters of reference indicate, corresponding parts.

A represents one of the side-pieces of a windowblind.

B, the slats, fitted at one end in A, as usual, and connected at their inner edges to a slat-rod, G, in the ordinary way, so that by operating the rod 0, the seats may be closed, or adjusted fully open, more or less so, as desired.

These parts being old and well known do not require a specific description.

D represents my invention, which consists simply of av metal plate, a, of circular form, or approximating to that shape. It may be scalloped at the edge, if desired, as shown in fig. 2, merely for the sake of ornament.

The diameter of this plate a, should be about equal to thethickness of the side A of the frame of the blind, to which side it is attached bytacks or screws, as shown at b b in fig. 1.

The plate a has a radial slot, 0, made in it, extending from its periphery to a point slightlypast or beyond its centre, said slot being sufliciently wide to admit of the plate being inserted over the tenon d of the slat where the fastening is to be secured. This will be understood by referring to fig. 1, in which the tenon is shown indotted circle.

Beside this radial slot 0 there is made in the plate a, a semicircular slot, 0, about concentric with the plate a, and the portion f of the plate within this slot is bent or curved outward, so as to form a springwhich bears against the end of the blind-slat, so as to hold said slat, andconsequently all the others, as they are connectedby the rod 0, in any desired position within the scope of their movement or adjustment.

The portion f of the plate, that is, the spring, it will be seen projects further out from the plate a at its centre, as shown at g, and hence the greatest pressure is exerted against the slat when the latter is moved to a horizontal position, and when the slat is in this position, the greatest pressure against it is required, in order to prevent casual movement under the weight of rod 0, as the latter then has the greatest leverage power, said power decreasing as the slat is adjusted or moved from that position in either direction, and the pressure of the spring correspondently decreasing against the slat.

The plate a is adapted to be reversed when desired, whereby the outer circle or rim acts as a spring, bearin g against the end of the slat, the central portion f being secured to the side-piece of the blind.

By this simple and economical device, a reversible blind-slat fastening is produced, by which the slats may be secured in any position within the scope of their movement, and without the special adjustment of any part whatever, except the movingof the slats.

The spring fastening may be constructed of anysuitable metal, but I prefer hard-rolled brass, that material being elastic, andnot liable to be affected by corrosion, and as the device is extremely light a large quantity may be manufactured from a moderate weight of metal.

I am aware of the patent granted to George H. Dimond, September 17, 1867, fora-blind-slat fastening, composed of a'slotted c'oncavo-convex plate; but as this forms no part of my invention, I do not therefore claim it.

Having thus described my invention,

What I claim as new, and desire to secure. by Letters Patent, is

The reversible fastening for blind-slats, composed of the sheet-metal plate a, slotted radially at c, to

brace the tenon of one of the blind-slats, and adapted to be secured to the side-piece of the blind, either at its central port-ion or rim, whereby a spring is formed of either of said parts to act or press against the end of the slat for the purpose of holding it in any desired position, as herein shown and described.

WILLIAM SELLERS.

Witnesses: FRANK Bnocirnny,

ALEX. F. Ronnms. 

